REVERSI: Rules and Strategies

Reversi (or Othello) is a two player board game played on an 8x8 board. It is played using two sided (mostly black and white) chips (or stones). The target is to get the maximum number of chips of your colour on the board.

Rules
The board is set with four chips in the center in the form of a 2x2 square, with similar chips diagonally opposite to each other.
Black moves first, placing a piece in a position adjacent to a white piece such that the white piece(s) is caught between the two black pieces in a B-W-B or a B-W-W-B or a similar formation. The black player then flips all the chips lying on a straight line between the placed chip and any other anchors. White follows, moving in a similar way. If a player has no valid move, play passes to the other player. Play ends when no player can play a valid move. At such a time, the player with the maximum chips of his colour on the board wins.

Strategies
Important strategies for Reversi include:

• Corners – They’re by far the most important tools in a Reversi game. Capturing a corner makes it next to impossible for the opponent to flip that piece, thereby reducing his available moves, and increasing yours.
• Edges can be used in a similar way, although they can prove detrimental if not used wisely.
• A simple strategy that works against an average player is to flip very few pieces in the beginning, leaving the opponent with very few moves, and you with plenty.
• A concept called Parity, which basically includes getting the last move in an empty region resulting in more stable pieces, is extremely useful once you get the hang of it.